Cigarette Packages To Get Gory

Posted November 11, 2010

Despite the current warnings, many Americans smoke. The government is hoping that new warning labels will help stop people from picking up the habit.

The dangers of smoking are about to get more graphic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just reviled 36 new labels that will go on cigarette packages. The labels feature gory images and messages and cover about half the pack.

This new labels are the first change to cigarette packages since 1965; when companies were forced to add the mandatory Surgeon General’s warning.

The various images include a cadaver who is labeled to have died from lung disease, an infant surrounded by smoke, and a man smoking from a tracheotomy hole.

While it is true that less people are smoking since the 1960s, the number now appears to have leveled off. Still, about 21% of U.S. adults and nearly 20% of high school students smoke cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal regulators applaud the change because previous warnings and messages have not been very effective. Previous studies also believe that including graphic warnings worked better than text warnings overseas.

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Margaret Aprison Margaret is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Telecommunications and a minor in Psychology. The daughter of two scientists, Margaret has been surrounded by the subject her entire life. She enjoys social media, writing, television, and, of course, science!

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